Klaus Jurgens

JACK Nicholson, Jessica Lange – when the postman rang twice…what a movie! Yet, in our case, a postman does not call and no-one rings twice as delivery is fast and we are eagerly anticipating its arrival. What am I talking about? Drinking water!

Drinking water is one of the essentials of daily life and even more so one could argue in countries with a hotter than average climate such as Turkey. Yet new arrivals on our shared shores are often surprised to realize how it is actually changing hands. I am referring to the standard 19–litre water container, an indispensable member of each and every household.

There are various reasons why we regularly buy this particular product. It is cheaper than buying 19 individual, 1 litre bottles. Prices do vary but I reckon the most expensive would set us back 7.50TL whereas different brands cost a minimum of 4TL to 4.50TL.

Of course, it is so much more practical as it is no longer ourselves who walk or drive to the nearest corner market – we simply pick up the receiver and order. Depending on location it may take between 15 minutes to an hour, but as water is good business, chances are your delivery comes much faster than anticipated.

Another reason for going big is the sheer amount of non-tap water one would need on a daily basis. It is an unfortunate reality that it may take time until the water treatment and water purification systems are able to cope with cleaning enough drinkable water for the population. The government is aware of the situation; an EU pre-accession project is being implemented in this regard, too.

Hence, we use the 19 litre ‘reservoir’ not merely for drinking the water straightaway but during summers for dental hygiene, for making ice cubes for the children’s or adults drinks, as well as for tea and coffee making purposes.

As grown-ups should consume at least two to three litres of water per day, and with more than one person at home, 19 litres, as impressive as they may sound, will not last long.

Now you might wonder how to get the water out of the container to where you want it? You have a choice of purely practical and pretty posh.

‘Purely practical’ implies paying a small deposit for a hand-pump with the container remaining on the kitchen floor. ‘Pretty posh’ is an electric powered hot-cold water dispenser which can be bought almost everywhere where white goods are sold.

There is a small catch to the latter: someone must lift the water container first knee high; then slowly turn it around whilst pushing it higher, before finally placing it onto the water cooler without smashing either the first or the latter.

As you’ve already made a small hole in the middle of the plastic lid little water if any will be spilled in the process. But it is a heavy load. I am not saying that it is a bodybuilder’s job but you need to be careful while lifting it as you may seriously hurt your back.

For me it was a totally new experience. I had gotten used to water coolers whilst visiting North America or when going to our local GP back in England. But on a daily basis, not at all!

It is a combination of different temperatures and ultimately adopting a local habit which helps us lead a healthier lifestyle. The day we go back home, I guess we will branch out and search for a similar type of water container supplier as we are now used to it. And drinking lots of water cannot harm us no matter where we live!

May I end this column by quoting from a poem by Jeff Bresee ‘Pure Water’ – ‘A life sustained by water pure, yet marred by memory of the wine, like fragrant waft of soft allure, diminished not by hands of time (…) But hold I fast to water’s beauty, resolute despite all time, let God and Angel’s bear this witness – I choose water over wine.’